Thursday, November 5, 2009

When I first planted my garlic, I thought they wouldn't sprout until Spring. Then, I learned that sprouting a couple of inches would be fine if protected over the winter.

Now I'm hoping a couple-few inches will be okay as well.

The garlic in the raised bed is growing like mad. Most all of the cloves have sprouted, although there are a few that don't want to be seen as over achievers and seem to be holding out, which is fine with me as long as they sprout in the long run. There will be no freeloading in this garden bed, my dears.

I'm planning on giving them a good layer of straw for the winter (Shoot, do those shoots need sun during the winter!?). Our nights can be low, but the days are usually not too bad. Very seldom will it stay below freezing all day long. I hope these guys man up and bulb up come summer.

I'm more worried about the three left over cloves I put in the small container on the deck.

They're sprouting as well. I can put straw over the top, but I know it will get colder than the raised bed will. You can grow garlic in much harsher winter conditions that we have, so I don't think the soil freezing will be a problem, it's the freeze and defrost on a weekly basis that has me nervous.

It's exciting to watch them sprout. At least I know they have a chance.

The morning comes early, although actually it's a bit later, however no one has yet to see fit to let my daughter know. It's been a week for goodness sake. Adapt already. At least we're all ready to leave the house on time.

10 comments:

I never got to planting garlic this year, I wonder if I can find a spot. Yours will do fine over the winter. The ones I planted last season broke ground in the fall and lived uncovered all winter long. They took 12" of snow at a time, thaw cycles followed by -4f. Tough suckers they are!

I think your garlic should be fine. My raised beds freeze, at least partially- I don't really know how deeply- but often the ground seems thawed, at least the surface. My garlic poked up through the mulch and seemed fine all winter.

Congrats on your sprouts! I agree with Amy, they should be fine. I start my garlic, shallots, onions and leeks in the fall up here in VA and they do fine through the winter. I don't mulch the raised beds, but they are interplanted with pansies and swiss chard just for "prettiness", I am sure it has an added benefit where the wind is concerned, but last year I didn't even do that and they were fine. Good luck! I find that by planting them in the fall it gives them a head start and they are ready to be pulled in time to replace them with peas in the spring, rather than having to wait until May to harvest like some do.

Your garlic is looking good! Sprouting is proof that the garlic is growing and putting out roots. No, they don't need sun during the winter, but they do need a good layer of mulch to help prevent freeze and thawing that happens over the winter into spring as the temperature fluctuates. The mulch not only protect the garlic from long term freezing temperatures, but it helps keeps the soil at a uniform temperature so frost can push the garlic out of the ground and tear the new roots.

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I'm not dead! ;^) Just crazy, crazy busy. Gotta be sure to check in with you now and again no matter how nuts life gets. =) I'm sure your garlic will be fine. I planted some last year that sprouted and did fine all winter even under heavy snow. My problems came in the spring with it being too wet and getting fungal diseases... not that you have to worry about that. I agree with Stef about making the early bird carry the pot in and out of the house! ;^)

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About Me

I'm a wife, teacher and mom of two who came by gardening accidentally in order to appease a fussy child in a big-box hardware store. He saw yellow pear tomatoes (his favorite color) and we became container gardeners.
As it goes with anything involving children, my interest far outlasted his and now we have a square foot garden in our corner yard.
As long as we can battle the bugs and keep the dog from the soil, we might have some fun.